Drawer for refrigerators.



No; 736,449, PATENTED AUG. 1a, 1903. A. L. SHANKLIN & J. G. HAUSAM. DRAWER FOR REFRIGERATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1903- N0 MODEL.

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-rLnhh -MH MMHE o m f RHHI HHHHT u do U W m I." a 5 F E r B N iii! n /\a w K: a 4 W I UNITED STATES Patented August 18, 1903;

PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER L. SI-IANKLIN AND JAOOB G. HAUSAM, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

DRAWI ER FOR REFRIGERATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,449, dated August 18, 1903.

Application filed March 28, 1903. Serial No. 149,950. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom, it may concern:

Beit known that we, ALEXANDER L. SHANK- LIN and JACOB G. HAUSAM, citizens of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Drawers for Refrigerators, of which the f0llowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to drawers for refrigerators;'and our invention consists in the attachment of an upright plate to the back of the drawer, such plate being larger than the opening through which the drawer passes; and our invention consists, further, in providing such a drawer with removable sides and a removable bottom which can be readily taken out and washed as often as desired.

Ourinvention consists, further, in the construction of the frames of said removable sides.

The object of said plate attached to the back of the drawer is to exclude warm air from the interior of the chest when the drawer is fully open.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a drawer constructed in accordance with our invention, the sides being removed. Fig. 2 is an en larged side elevation of the drawer. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, enlarged, looking toward the rear of the drawer. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a refrigerator or chest contain-. ing several drawers. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a refrigerator or chest, three drawers being shown therein, the back of the top drawer being in section and showing below said drawer a shelf-carrying door and a dropplate operating in connection with said door. Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of one of the braces secured at an angle of forty-five to the bottom and end of the drawers, taken on line VI VI in Fig. 5, also disclosing a U-shaped brace.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 especially, 1 and 3 designate the wooden frame of the bottom of the drawer. Said frame consists of two longitudinal grooved strips 1, connected at their ends by cross-pieces 3. The rear cross-piece 3 lies beneath the back head 4, which is secured to the strips 1 by two iron braces 5. The front head 6 is also secured to said strips 1 by two braces 7. In Fig. 1 the sides of the drawer are removed in order to expose to view the said braces 5 and 7.

The bottom ofthedrawerconsists of a piece of wire-gauze 8, secured to the top of awooden frame 9,which is supported by two strips 10, secured to the inner sides of the grooved strips 1. Said bottom frame 9 may be lifted out of the drawer, so that the wire-cloth 8 may be washed or cleaned without removing the drawer from the chest. The wire-cloth 8 being full of openings permits the cold air to come into contact with the bottom containing meat or other perishable things in the drawer. The sides of the drawers are also constructed of wire-gauze 12, which is secured tosuitable rectangular frames 13. The ends of each drawer are secured to the bottom frame3 and are held in position by braces 5, as shown. Secured to the outer sides of the drawers are inverted-U-shaped braces 14. Thesebraces are secured to the gauze 12 at a forty-five angle, and when the sides of the drawer are placed in position, as seen at Fig. 2,'the U- shaped brace 14. correspondingly engages or straddles brace 5 (seen at Fig. 6) and holds the sides in the proper position to form the drawer.

The sides of the frames 13 being detachable may be washed or cleaned without removing the drawer from the chest.

Out in the back head 4 is a slot 16, which is adapted to receive a block 17, the back of which is secured to an upright detachable plate 18 by means of a bolt 19. Said bolt passes also through a turn-button 20, mounted on the front of block 17. Said turn-button is smaller than the aforesaid slot 16, so that it may be drawn back through said slot when turned to a certain position; but normallysaid turn-button holds plate 18 against the back of head 4. Said plate .18 need never be removed from the drawer excepting when the drawer has to be removed from the chest. Said plate 18 is made higher and broader than the back head 4., so that whenever the drawer is fully opened, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, said plate will impinge upon the inside of the chest and will thereby close up the cracks between the back head 4 and the opening in the chest, and thus the leakage of warm air into the chest throughsuch cracks will be prevented. The aforesaid rear cross-piece 3 beneath the back head 4 fills the space which would otherwise be open between the grooved strips 1. (See Fig. 3.) 21 designates battens secured to the back of the back head 4.

When placing the drawer in the chest, the detachable back-plate 18 is removed. The drawer is pushed into the chest and said plate 18 is replaced on the drawer by inserting block 17 into slot 16, and the button 20 is turned across said slot. Doors 24L may be provided in the chest, through which, the hands may be passed to attach the plate 18, one hand being used to adjust the said plate, the other to turn the button 20.

The grooved side strips' 1 of the drawer are supported in the usual mannerby tongued bars secured Within the chest. '(Not shown.)

This drawer is adapted not only for holding meats, but perishable articles of any kind.

Below this'drawer, as shown in Fig. 5, is a door to which are attached a shelf and a bracket upon which rests a hinged plate, the purpose of which is described in our pending applicatiomSerial No. 121,912, filed September 2, 1902, subject, Combined refrigerator and counter. Our purpose in showing said parts in the accompanying drawings is to more fully illustrate the utility of the openbottomed drawer thereabove.

Having now fullydescribed our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a drawer, adapted to be used in refrigerators, and ice-chests, the combination of grooved strips 1, a back and a front head, four inverted brackets secured to said strips and heads, two side frames lying against the inner sides of said brackets, inclined strips of U-shaped sections secured to the outer sides of said frames, and fitting over the webs of said brackets; substantially as described.

2. In a drawer, adapted to be used in refrigerators and ice-chests, the combination of the back head having an opening therein, adapted to receive a block, a block, a detachable plate of larger dimensions than said back head, said block being secured to said detachable plate, a turn-button mounted on said block, and a bolt passing through said turn -button block, and detachable plate, said plate when attached to the back head projecting past the topand sides thereof; substantially as described.

3. A drawer adapted to be used in refrigerators and ice-chests, comprising a frame, a detachable bottom, a front and a back head, four inverted brackets secured thereto, two detachable side frameshavinginclined members which engage the webs of said brackets, the back head having an opening therein, a detachable plate of larger dimensions'than those of the back head, a block secured to said detachable plate, a turn-button mounted on said block, and a bolt passing through said turn button, plate, said plate, when attached to the back head, projectingpast the top and sides thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER L. SHANKLIN. JACOB G. HAUSAM. Witnesses:

M. L. LANGE, JAMES F. GEAGER.

block, and detachable. 

